Norwegian oil services company Aker Solutions has opened its upgraded Aberdeen services facility.

Aker Solution said on Thursday that the £8 million ($11.1 million) site upgrade enabled the company to extend its services offering beyond subsea controls to include subsea trees and tooling equipment.

It includes installation of new equipment, a reorganization of the space, and implementation of lean processing and methodologies, helping to improve efficiency at the site.

“Demand is increasing globally for services at oil and gas fields offshore, including in the UK. Energy companies are seeking to maximize production and returns from existing assets and infrastructure amid tighter budgets,” the company stated.

Sian Lloyd Rees, Aker Solutions’ UK country manager, said: “Our investment in the Aberdeen services base demonstrates our commitment to the North Sea, a mature basin where we see opportunities. It’s also part of our wider strategic move to capitalize on the broader potential we see in the services sector globally.”

Deirdre Michie, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, who opened the facility on Thursday, added: “The subsea sector is a high-tech, export-driven engineering and manufacturing success story of tremendous importance to the UK. By investing in this new facility and further broadening its capabilities, Aker Solutions is contributing to Aberdeen’s reputation as a center of excellence for subsea services and demonstrating its confidence in the basin’s future potential.”

According to Aker Solutions, the services hub, located just outside Aberdeen in Dyce, will retain its capability to manufacture new equipment such as subsea control modules for the company’s North Sea customers and service such modules for global customers.